Surface Electromagnetic Waves at a Single Interface of Superconductor and Left-Handed Materials

The wave propagation characteristics along the single interface of superconductor and left-handed materials are investigated theoretically. An expression for the complex permittivity of a superconductor is derived in the approximation of two-component plasma containing "normal" and "superconducting" electrons. Basic relations are obtained in the general case at temperatures T ≤ Tc where c T is the critical temperature. The frequency, the structure, and the temperature dependences of surface electromagnetic waves propagating along a single interface of a superconductor-left-handed material interface are computed, analyzed and discussed

Kondo effect in a carbon nanotube with spin-orbit interaction and valley mixing: A DM-NRG study

We investigate the effects of spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and valley mixing on the transport and dynamical properties of a carbon nanotube (CNT) quantum dot in the Kondo regime. As these perturbations break the pseudo-spin symmetry in the CNT spectrum but preserve time-reversal symmetry, they induce a finite splitting $\Delta$ between formerly degenerate Kramers pairs. Correspondingly, a crossover from the SU(4) to the SU(2)-Kondo effect occurs as the strength of these symmetry breaking parameters is varied. Clear signatures of the crossover are discussed both at the level of the spectral function as well as of the conductance. In particular, we demonstrate numerically and support with scaling arguments, that the Kondo temperature scales inversely with the splitting $\Delta$ in the crossover regime. In presence of a finite magnetic field, time reversal symmetry is also broken. We investigate the effects of both parallel and perpendicular fields (with respect to the tube's axis), and discuss the conditions under which Kondo revivals may be achieved.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figure

A Comparison Efficacy Study of Commercial Nasopharyngeal Swabs versus a Novel 3D Printed Swab for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2

The large volume of diagnostic tests required by the response to the pandemic of COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shortage of commercial nasopharyngeal swabs. In an effort to alleviate the shortage, swabs created by 3D printing may be a solution. We designed and produced 3D printed swabs and sought to compare their ability to detect SARS-CoV-2 in patients admitted for COVID-19 or who were suspected of having COVID-19. A total of 30 patients were swabbed with a commercial and printed 3D swab. Results matched in 28 of 31 patients (90%). Two patients were discordant with a positive commercial swab and a negative 3D printed swab and another was discordant because the 3D printed swab was positive and the commercial swab was negative. The sensitivity was 89%, specificity was 92% and Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.80. The 3D printed swabs performed acceptably compared to the commercial swab and may be considered for use in lieu of a commercial swab

Isolation of bacteria that are able to digest keratin as an alternative to harmful chemicals used in tanning industries

Abstract:Macroccocus is a bacteria that was isolated from a soil sample containing decaying hair and It was found to contain keratinase enzyme due to its high ability to digest keratin protein. The isolated bacteria by this study can be used as an alternative to harmful chemicals tanning processes represents a safe and, clean technology that achieves economic feasibility in the process of skin soaking and hair removal. Background: Leather tanning is considered one of the ancient professions that Hebron has been known for hundreds of years which is the only source of raw materials for Palestinian factories thatdepends on this commodity. In the past, the industry relied on environmentally friendly natural materials in tanning, but today they have become a source of pollution of soil and groundwater, especially after the entry of chemicals in this craft, such as chromium and some acids that infect humans and destroy the Palestinian environment because of the toxic gases that result from the process of soaking and hair removal. Objectives: 1. To Isolate keratinolytic bacteria from soil sample 2. To test the bacterial effectiveness for hair degradation 3. To identify and characterize of bacteria by sequencing tool. Methods: Soil sample containing decaying hair was collected from the industrial area in Hebron city and processed in the lab, bacteria were isolated by using spreading and streaking plate technique, their ability for hair degradation was tested by incubating bacterial colony, hair and water for several days, after the bacterial ability for hair degradation appeared bacterial isolate was identified by sequencing tool and the type of bacteria was determined by bioinformatics tool. Results: Isolated a bacterial strain that is able to digest keratin and was tested on several samples and proved to be effective in degrading hair. It has been welcomed by the Modern Leather Tanning Company (MLTC-Hebron), which has cooperated with us in this project. The strain was genotyped and appeared to belong to macroccocus, this is the first report to find an industrial value for such bacteria which is also safe for human and the environment. Conclusions: Among microbial isolate screened for keratin digestion by using soil sample, a newly isolated Macroccocusequipercicuswas found with a greater ability for hair degradation, the use of such bacteria as an alternative to harmful chemicals tanning processes represents a safe and, clean technology that achieves economic feasibility in the process of skin soaking and hair removal. but in the same time, the full sequence of these strains of bacteria is unknown and not significantly studied. Therefore, additional researches have to be done for characterization of this type of bacteri

Squeezing of a coupled state of two spinors

The notion of spin squeezing involves reduction in the uncertainty of a component of the spin vector below a certain limit. This aspect has been studied earlier for pure and mixed states of definite spin. In this paper, this study has been extended to coupled spin states which do not possess sharp spin value. A general squeezing criterion has been obtained by requiring that a direct product state for two spinors is not squeezed. The squeezing aspect of entangled states is studied in relation to their spin- spin correlations.Comment: Typeset in LaTeX 2e using the style iopart, packages iopams,times,amssymb,graphicx; 17 pages, 5 eps figure file